Mnangagwa Ally Takes Over Police

The appointment of Stephen Mutamba as the new police commissioner-general was long coming.

It has been an open secret since 2018 that President Emmerson Mnangagwa preferred him to take the position and was going to install him ultimately.

He is a close Mnangagwa ally.

Mutamba replaces Tandabantu Godwin Matanga who has been commissioner-general since 19 December 2017, but has only there temporarily.

Matanga will remain in charge until 31 December 2024.

He had taken office after the removal of Augustine Chihuri following the November 2017 coup.

Matanga was officially appointed as commissioner-general on 12 February 2018.

He joined the police in 1982 and previously had been deputy commissioner-general since 1992.

Mutamba was reassigned from Crime to Operations in 2019.

On 6 January 2021, Mutamba was reassigned by Matanga from operations to administration.

In 2022, Mutamba was put under United States sanctions for his role in “undermining Zimbabwe’s democratic processes and institutions”.

The US then said:

“Over the past two years, Mutamba has taken actions that threaten and undermine legitimate political parties that oppose the policies of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu PF) party. In 2020, Mutamba supported Zimbabwe security services’ use of pressure and intimidation on prominent opposition figures. Also in 2020, Mutamba supported the uneven enforcement of a COVID-19-related curfew, encouraging security forces to limit opposition activities and did not allow for foreign national officials located in Zimbabwe to meet with Zimbabwean opposition parties or civil society groups. In 2021, Mutamba advocated that vote tallies not be displayed outside polling locations and that international observers should not be allowed to monitor the 2023 elections.”